The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Surgical procedures are often performed on a body, for example, a human body or anatomy, to repair or replace various portions thereof. For example, the soft tissues of the body may need to be reattached to bones due to trauma, overuse, surgical intervention, disease, or other reasons.
Soft tissues can be reattached to bone using fastening devices such as screws, staples, and various types of suture anchors. Soft tissues are often fixed to various positions on the bone. For example, to replace a natural rotator cuff fixation point or to replace the rotator cuff itself, fixing a graft to a selected bone area may be desired. One means to fix a soft tissue to the selected area is to provide a suture through a selected portion of the soft tissue and fix the other end of the suture to a selected area on the bone with the fastener. The use of fasteners in surgical procedures, however, can be improved upon. Accordingly, there is a need for apparatus and surgical methods to facilitate easy and efficient securing of the suture.